Giving In
by opheliapain19
Summary: Alec and Max are a couple but it doesn't take very long for the unthinkable to happen. Will they survive through the turmoil?
1. Date

'X5452, X5452, do you hear me?' shrilled the voice in the shadows. A young girl, no older than 10, stood erect in the hallway of a cold corridor after sneaking away for a blanket that could keep Jondy warm. The night was well along, which she had hoped would give her cover. There had been very little commotion but some night drills going on in the back courtyards. But those were the Olders' who lived with her, every one of them she had never met. A tall, broad shouldered man walked towards her with his boots squishing against the floor and his gun clinking in its holster. The gun could have been just for show but not one of her siblings really knew for sure. She studied it for weight; how low the gun sank in the pouch, trying hard not to seem obvious.  
  
'What are you looking at, 452?' said the man, stopping in front of the young girl  
  
with the menacing shadow of night covering his face. 'What are you wanting?' he rephrased, taking her arm and squeezing it so tight she feared a scream would cause her to explode. Quicker than she could move, he dragged her, knees on the frigid cement floor, down the long dark hallway. Her mind hurried through maneuvers that could free her, but her opponent was too fierce and her  
  
superior. If she really was stronger than him as she thought, she was far too  
  
afraid to test it.   
  
'Have you forgotten already to hide your curiosity?' His voice was so loud it could have filled two rooms this size, leaving a wake of maniacal echoes for her to stomach. 'Let me teach you again,' his shrill, eager voice told her while switching on the overhead projector.   
  
'CURIOSITY'   
  
It flashed over a pale white background in solid black text, quickly followed by  
  
another.  
  
'KILLED'  
  
The girl bit the insides of her mouth to keep alert. Blood began filling her dry  
  
mouth, tasting bittersweet.  
  
'THE'  
  
Fear filled her as the man paced in the shadows behind the room. She couldn't  
  
see him, but his steps gave him away.  
  
'MAX'  
  
She blinked furiously at the screen, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks.   
  
'Max!!!!!'  
  
Screams filled her mind, nothing but screams. The room grew blurry; her mind  
  
raced.   
  
'Wake up, Max, wake up!' She felt something hot touch her face, forcing her  
  
alert. She came to, facing a more pleasant reality than the one she had dreamed. It was Alec, waking her from her nightmare. Rolling over, she stared up at the ceiling with relief.  
  
"Oh God, it was just a dream." Facing Alec she sped away the dreams harsh  
  
reality, that once she had been in such a hell. Alec's worried eyes traced the  
  
figure of her face, emptying her fear. Giving in, Max breathed out as she  
  
caressed the back of his neck, "So is this."  
  
"Sure is." he admitted and with more relief than he had the chance before. After  
  
all, there never really had been any time for the two of them to discover things  
  
about each other too well before. There were always bad guys trying to kill  
  
them, boyfriends and girlfriends that got in the way, and nasty virus' to keep  
  
their minds tied up. After alluding most of the bad guys, ditching the boyfriend  
  
and girlfriend, Alec and Max finally had time to discover the companionship in  
  
themselves. And what they found was that it had been what both had been  
  
looking for for so long. Max loved Alec with her whole heart and Alec loved Max  
  
like she were his baby girl. Together in a fight they were stalwart baddies but  
  
together in love they were lusty romantics.   
  
"Took long enough for it to come true, huh?" Max said as she let Alec rest his  
  
head on her chest, her fingers running through his hair. He groaned.  
  
"I love it when you do that," he reminded her as she smiled knowingly, "my own private massager."  
  
"Well, thats what I am here for!" Max replied triumphantly. He reached up for  
  
her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it.   
  
"I just love that your here," he told her, "I feel like I never see you."   
  
"You saw me just a day ago." Max added, only she knew what he meant. The  
  
two just never could get enough of one another. A curse to being transgenics in  
  
love. There was always some diabolical ex-boyfriend taking up your time by  
  
sending you on missions to help peace reign. Alec begged her nearly every time  
  
to just ignore Logan but Max knew the missions were far too important, also that he wouldn't even ask her if he could do the missions himself, which was  
  
impossible care of that pesky leg problem of his. Max took the missions on the  
  
idea of things being cool between Logan and her, even after all that went down a year ago. After the virus became too much for them, that without being able to touch one another, they just came down to the conclusion that friends was all it ever could be. And though Alec suspected Logan still cared for Max more than  
  
'just friends', he wouldn't let her know. Logan had asked him not to.   
  
"Its not enough," Alec whined, taking the back of her hand and rubbing it against his lips, "I need you more." Max giggled to herself, thinking it was so cute how he could just get enough of her.   
  
"I don't have anything to do tonight," she told Alec, remembering nothing Logan asked her to do, "lets go do something together."  
  
"A date?" he asked her, rolling to the other side of the bed and staring in her  
  
eyes. Max nodded. "Great, I'll get a shower!"   
  
"You want to go right now?"  
  
"Well, yeah, before Logan calls you and asks you to do something. If we're not  
  
here, if you leave behind your cell phone, then we can have the entire day to  
  
ourselves. It'll be just like I dreamed."  
  
"But Alec, what if its really important?" Max hated the way maturity sounded  
  
when talking with Alec. She loved being irresponsible when he was around. She  
  
could feel young again.   
  
"Then...," he thought aloud, "he'll have to wait." Max got up off the bed, strolling towards Alec with a whimpery face, "Oh don't give me that face, Max. Please?" Max picked the cell phone out of his sock drawer that was wide open and started to dial, "Are you calling him? No, don't do that, he'll think you WANT to help!" Max shushed him and pressed the phone to her ear. With a smile, she said hello. Alec groaned and stomped into the bathroom.   
  
"Hi, I'd like to make reservations for two, when's the next available time for a  
  
table? Around 3:00? Thank you." Coming out of the bathroom, Max could see the startling expression of glee in Alec's face.  
  
"I thought-" he said and hugged her, "Baby girl, you are the best." Powering off  
  
the cell phones and un-plugging the telephone connection to the apartment Max  
  
fell back onto the bed while Alec showered, smiling to herself.   
  
"Finally." 


	2. Marry Me

They needed today more than they knew. Darkness was falling upon Seattle in the shadow of their deepest fear. Exposure. Hatred. Love was all they had until the dark passed them by. And love would pull them through. Alec was sure of it as sure as holding her in his grasps could be. Max was settling down, in behavior and attitude. She was finally maturing towards womanhood. Alec was finally maturing himself, in ways even he could be impressed with. But even though growing more cunning and mature, in skills according to fighting, both knew it would take more than stamina to stave off fear in Normals minds. They saw them as frightening reminders of corruption in their world; inhuman killers. They saw only their reflections in the mire and clouded puddles of Seattles streets as they ran away from danger. Today they would see things differently. Today would be beautiful.  
  
"We have so much time before lunch at the club," Alec mentioned for the fiftieth time since leaving the apartment. Max raised her hand over his mouth in hopes of quieting him.   
  
"I know, I know," she said, "and I keep asking you what you want to do but you keep on ignoring me." Alec could tell by her tone that she was getting bothered by his excitement and that toning it down alittle wouldn't be such a bad idea. He gathered her in his arms and kissed her cheek tenderly.  
  
"I just love being with you. Doing nothing." Max squeezed his body tightly next to his as the passers-by stared ruthlessly, jealous of their brightness on the dismal, cloudy day.  
  
"We could have done nothing at home, where it was at least warm." Alec knew that when Max started to complain, it wasn't because she was dissatisfied. He had got the drift awhile ago that it just came natural to her to complain and that mostly it was a way to get some kind of reaction, like impatience, out of him. It rarely worked.  
  
"Oh, your cold are you? I'll warm you up, baby." Alec grabbed around her waist as she walked, his rear end sticking out towards the market streets where women gawked and oohed him. Blushing, Max smiled and kissed him.   
  
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Will you stop advertising yourself now?" Alec pursed his lips and stood up. Both now stayed quiet as they trampsed through the crowds, walking in unison and swinging their entwined hands. They must have looked silly because nearly every one who looked at them seemed to grumble to themselves and hiss that the two of them 'should get a room'. Then Max spoke up.  
  
"I was thinking the other day about something...." she said first seriously and then with a smirk, "its probably going to make you laugh." He couldn't wait.  
  
"What?" he asked her, holding back his obvious enthuthiasm.  
  
"Well, I was thinking that you don't have a last name." Alec blinked, trying to understand where she was going. She continued, "So, if you don't have a last name, then if-" and then she stopped herself with a laugh, "this is an 'if', mind you, that if we married, I would have no last name to take." Alec's mind was blown that she even considered this. Marriage. Apart from hearing about it on television, Alec had never met a married couple nor did he have much knowledge on why marriage was so special. But if Max was thinking about it then maybe it was something she wanted. And usually what she wanted was perfectly wonderful for him.  
  
"You want to get married?" he asked her, quizzically. Max frowned playfully and scoffed.  
  
"No," she said with a laugh,"why, do you?" This idea of Marriage was both intriging and interesting to the two. It seemed to them that they already had a marriage-like relationship and would not really be changing much if they went and did it. Alec held her hands in his and smiled.  
  
"Yeah, I do, I think." Max's eyes filled with surprise. Was that a proposal, like she had seen in the movies? Or was it simply an agreement? All she knew was, unlike in movies, she didn't feel swept off her feet by it. Disapointed, Max turned away. The persistance in Alec's eyes as he yanked her gently back meant more than words. And for an instant, Max realized he meant what he said.  
  
"You mean it," she said, trying to uncover a bluff on his part, "you really want to marry me?"  
  
"Yes! Marry me! Marry me, today!" Alec added triumphantly as if she'd already answered him with a yes. Max's eyes lifted up into the sky, a small tear forming in her eye. All this emotion was stirred up in those words and suddenly she was nodding and smiling and holding Alec next to her. Married. What could be more wonderful? 


	3. The Honeymooners

Disclaimer: Don't own nada  
  
Warning: Has some sensual dialogue but only in the first paragraphs.  
  
Rated: PG13  
  
Authors Note: Voila! The next chapter of 'Giving In'. Ya know, I'm alittle unsure to pursue the 'tragedy' element I was going to add. Isn't everything just so perfect for our two favorite transgenics? We'll see!  
  
BTW, I need to thank Mariah Carey for flavoring my writing. Songs really have an effect upon the way I write. If you are wondering, the first paragraphs were written listening to 'Underneathe the Stars' or Mariahs version of 'Open Arms' or even better, just the entire 'Daydream' cd. If you are writing a love scene, I suggest those songs...I don't know why... ; )  
  
Well, you probably don't care what I have to say anymore....go on and read the story you wackos!  
  
@--}--- Honeymooners ---{--@  
  
Under the glow of candlelight, in the most romantic of settings, Alec and Max celebrated life-love-and the pursuit of happiness. Honeymoons were not aptly described in that television series 'The Honeymooners', Max quickly assessed. Alec was loving, tender and affectionate and did not utter even once that she would be sent to the moon. She was there anyway. In heaven. Kisses tickled her skin, every moment an explosion of emotions heaved in Max's chest. She'd never felt like this before. In a way she was scared. She could almost feel herself shake. Then she'd look into his deep hazel eyes and realized there was nothing to fear. His warmth enraptured her, taking her in and not letting go. Max didn't want let go. Max left little kisses up and down his neck and to his lips were she stayed, smiling as her tongue searched the inside of his mouth. It was fun, actually.   
  
"I love you," Alec moaned after Max released and seductively threw him a grin. Her mouth was parched from all the kissing, no doubt so was his. So Max got up and walked, nearly tripping though, to get the champagne they had gotten from Logan as a wedding gift. On some level, it did feel weird to be drinking it but a gift was a gift. And this gift tasted good. So, given the givens, there was no reason why not.  
  
"Little bubbly?" Max said as she wiggled the bottle at him. Alec straightened up immediatly and nodded. Max reached for the cork-popper and went away at it.  
  
"Always," he said then corrected, "I mean, drink-wise." Max looked up and smirked at him, holding back a laugh. They had such a good humor about them. Max knew he'd keep her laughing forever. But something would be missing. Laughter of children. Living with Lucy, there was a family of five little children down the hall. Often she would hear them laughing and think how badly she wanted to be within them and see what was so funny. Laughing was such a foreign sound to her. Then she'd gotten used to it. Now she was older; married. She could have her own family of laughing children now. Couldn't she?   
  
"Alec, what about kids?" Max mentioned, casually. Alec's eyes popped up from the blankets, his eyes widened and nothing but stuttering came out from his mouth. Max quickly went back to getting the cork out, nervous over his unexpected lapse of words, and unexpectedly, it came out and foam splashed over her hands. The cork had went flying somewhere and when she looked towards Alec for a reaction, he had the same blank look he had on his face when she'd asked him about children. "Paging Alec, Alec come in."  
  
"I'm sorry," he quickly excused and shook himself, "I got lost in thought."  
  
"Are you back now?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Good." Max said and sat down beside him, running her fingers through the soft tufts of hair above his neck, "I'd hate to lose my husband to thought on our honeymoon."   
  
"Tragedy." Max nodded at him and inched closer. He was too far away and the longing for his warm body against her and his scent filling her mind was too much to bear. She was ravenous with lust and he was the object of her affection. Nothing could be more simpler than to unite the two, right?  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Awful." She was close enough now for him to lean forward and kiss her. Max smiled plaintively, waiting. And wanting. His lips were so juicey against hers. She needed them on her. As he talked, she watched them move, the insatiableness of a kiss haunting her.  
  
"Yes." Max breathed, inching closer and closer. Kiss me, Alec, kiss me, she begged silently in her mind.   
  
"Ghastly." The anticipation was moving Max to irritation. She'd prompt him, but just this once. Something inside her could not stand for his lips to be so far away from hers. It was aggravating.  
  
"Alec, just kiss me."  
  
"Okay." Max pushed him slowly the floor and the two rolled to their sides, hands placed akimbo. "I was running-" Alec began when she pressed her lips upon his and then when she lifted them up, he continued, "out of words, anyway."  
  
"Were you?"  
  
"Yes." Max continued kissing him and he still tried to talk but gave up eventually. Tonight, words weren't needed. Any other day, yes, but not tonight. Max had heard enough words in her lifetime to fill the entire Earth. Now she wanted silence. Not just any silence. But the kind of silence that speaks wonders.   
  
Silent longing.  
  
***  
  
5 weeks later...  
  
"Max, listen, I know you just got married but I need you to do a favor." spoke Logan as Max paced into the room. Her hair was still flung wildly up in a ponytail after a workout and sweat was still pouring off her body. Logan's eyes traced her up and down, she saw him, but didn't say anything. A smile spread across her face. She still drove him mad with lust.   
  
"Sure," Max laughed, "whats Superman without his Robin?"   
  
"Thats Batman, Max," Logan remarked, candidly but Max didn't catch it. She was too hot to think and feverish. Not to mention sick. Logan looked back at her and caught her fanning herself. "Are you alright?" he asked. Max furrowed her brow.  
  
"I'm not sure," she breathed and took a seat, "I've never felt so funny in my life." Shrugging her shoulders, she asked Logan what he wanted her to do.   
  
"Nothing too dangerous. Just some recon work at a broken-down textile factory thats being used to smuggle used goods for the black market. Thought you could get some documented proof then split." His face went worried again when Max bent down and huffed then came back up panting. "Ya know, on the other hand, maybe not."  
  
"What do you mean? I can still do it." Max replied, trying to assure Logan she wouldn't blow it. Instead of blowing the job, Max ended up blowing her lunch-all over the floor. "Oh God," Max whined and stood up as she caught of glimpse of the grossed-out expression on Logans' face, "I gotta go."  
  
"Call me!" Logan yelled at her as she exited the apartment, holding her gut with her arms and waddling into the elevator. She'd never felt this way before. But it didn't mean she didn't have a clue. She couldn't be what she thought she was, could she? Could she really, really, really be.....  
  
Pregnant?  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
I hope you liked it. It was alittle short but thats fine, right? Thank you for reading and if you'd like, write me a review. I love those things!  
  
Bye! 


	4. Baby Blues

Max had been sitting in the hospitals waiting room for an hour now, by herself, waiting for Dr. Carr to tell her what his reaction to the sonagram had really meant. She didn't even know if she was pregnant yet, either. Looking around the small, cramped space of seats and coffee tables, Max smiled to herself seeing all the pregnant women go by, holding their stomachs and the hands of their little children. It was really true then, that they had a glow about them. Maybe she did to, Max thought. Reaching around behind her, Max stared at her reflection in the mirror. She looked everything but glowing. Her skin was pale and her lips were a sickly shade of light pink. She'd gotten up and over to the gym before dusk and then straight to Logans without fixing herself up. No wonder he looked at her so strangely. Place her in a casket and she'd have passed as dead.  
  
"Mrs. Fornunfor?" a voice called behind her. Max turned and glared at the nurse standing by the door with a file in her hand. Max dead-panned almost immediatly, frightened to know her results.  
  
"Yes?" she asked and the nurse smiled assuringly at her. Maybe she saw this kind of thing all the time, Max thought, maybe I'm not dying.  
  
"The doctor will see you now," spoke the nurse, fingering her forwards. Max stood unto her feet and steadied herself from falling over. She was dizzy. A girl around the age of 18 had been sitting a seat away from her, reading a Seventeen magazine and clutching her swollen stomach. She looked up and Max, smiling.  
  
"How far along?" she asked. Max shrugged.  
  
"No idea."  
  
"Everythings gonna be fine," the girl reassured Max, "its always scary your first time." A young tot around the age of two came waddling up beside her to show the picture of a puppie she had just drawn. Actually, it was more just like a bunch of scribbles but the girl applauded her daughter and told her to go off and make another. The little girl skipped away and did just as she said. Max smiled and went with the nurse, down the hall.   
  
"I'll need to take your weight." the nurse said stopping her by the scale. Max nodded and got up onto it, standing steady. The heavy bar tipped and tottered then settled on 95. "Lightweight, huh?" the nurse spoke up boldly. Max turned and looked at her, reading her mind. You think I'm anorexic, Max inquired within her mind, but what you haven't seen is this 95 lightweight pummel a 300 lbs. man, sitting down.  
  
"Good metabolism, I guess." Max said with a know-it-all smile. Finally the nurse led her to another room and told her that Dr. Carr would be on his way in soon. Max sat down on the bed and waited but could feel herself giving in to a well-needed rest. Laying her head down, Max tried to force her eyes open, to stay up so the doctor could see her. But she had no choice this time, her body was telling her to sleep. She could see the door to the exam room open but after that was all a dream.   
  
"Your going to have a healthy baby boy!" she dreamt Dr. Carr saying to her as she sat on the bed smiling ear to ear. Max looked down and immediatly became aware of her large stomach, so much so she could not see the floor.   
  
"Oh my goodness, he grew fast..." Max breathed and then Alec entered the room, waving cigars.   
  
"Baby's on its way!" he exclaimed and Max just laid back and huffed lightly. Pain shuddered through her like a frieght train and Alec was whooping, dancing in a cirlce with Logan. She was lying in a hospital room now, her legs high up in stirrups.   
  
"Max, can you hear me?" the doctor asked.   
  
"Yes."  
  
"Max, can you hear me?" he asked again.  
  
"Yes, I can hear you."  
  
"Max, wake up..."  
  
"What?" she replied, puzzled. A piercing pain in her left arm startled Max to consciousness. A new nurse now stood next to her, inserting an IV. "Oh no, not again." Max cried, hoping this was not another 'Harbor Lights' incident. A voice spoke from a chair in the corner and as she turned, even though her vision was blurry, she could make out the face.  
  
"Through sickness and in health..."   
  
"Alec..." she sobbed and reached out for his hand to hold. He gave it. "I'm scared. Whats happening?" From the looks of him, his disheveled hair and wary eyes, she'd been out for awhile. And with good reason to worry. Alec had said 'sickness', not child. Max's eyes dropped steadily down to her stomach. "Am I-?"  
  
"Pregnant?" Alec finished for her. Max looked him back in the face. She could take it if she weren't but if it were something completly different, like a fatal Manticore flaw, she wasn't sure yet. She had just married the love of her life and she had just settled into a normal life. Of course Manticore would want to ruin that. "Yes."  
  
"What?"  
  
"We're gonna have a baby." he told her with a smile, but a strange expression passed over him. Max stopped smiling and rested her head down upon the pillow so she could look at him. He would not look at her though. Max shook his hand lightly. This wasn't disapointment, Max quickly assesed, this was something completly different. A sadness Max had not seen in a long time.  
  
"Alec, tell me...whats going on?"  
  
"Max, if you have this baby, you could die."  
  
"...."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
To be continued.....  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I guess tragedy has struck our two lovebirds. How will it end? Keep reading and find out!   
  
~Your writer, Heather 


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